International Year of Astronomy 2009 in the United States - A National Program

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Four hundred years ago, Galileo Galilei pointed a small telescope at the sky and made startling discoveries, which he communicated in his book Siderius Nuncius. To celebrate this 400th anniversary and to renew the connection between astronomy and the public, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) declared 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) and received official international designation from the United Nations. Nearly 100 countries are already planning country-specific activities connected with the overarching goals of the IAU. The American Astronomical Society and its partner organizations have developed a comprehensive program of activities that (1) are consistent with the overall IAU goals for the IYA, (2) are tailored for the U.S. public and its astronomy communities, (3) are structured to be scalable, allowing an ongoing fundraising effort to substantially support the major activities, (4) are structured to have maximal impact at the least possible cost, and (5) are potentially sustainable into the future. With funding from the National Science Foundation the project will be well placed to carry out core programs and garner additional external support to fully implement the planned projects and programs. The U.S. national IYA programs will allow for the distribution of current, accurate astronomical research results to the public at large and the education, through a variety of methods, of the public at large about the science of astronomy. Some IYA projects will achieve this through hands-on workshops or involvement where participants learn the inner workings of a telescope or measure the brightness of the night sky and understand the implications of this observation. Some programs will achieve broader impact through the dissemination of knowledge using channels the general public find comfortable such as newspaper inserts, public service announcements, and world wide web pages.